FOLLOW PHOTOS

From Beatles to Britney, it's Om sweet Om!

Britney Spears recently got her son anointed at a Hindu temple. Way before her, the Beatles came to India seeking inner peace. Just what is it that makes Eastern faith so attractive to the Occident?

| TNN | Jan 22, 2006, 07.55 PM IST

Britney Spears recently got her son anointed at a Hindu temple. Way before her, the Beatles came to India seeking inner peace. Just what is it that makes Eastern faith so attractive to the Occident?

"I thought Maharishi made a lot of sense. Meditation is only a means to an end. You do it to release the clutter out of your system, so that when it's gone you become that which you are anyway."

"Even if you go into the meditation bit just curious or cynical, once you go into it, you see. The only thing you can do is judge from your own experience."

George Harrison and John Lennon, on their experiences with meditation.

They did it in '67 and today's generation of pop superstars are continuing the transcendental trend. Most recently, pop princess Britney Spears got her son anointed at a Hindu temple.

What is it that makes the West look across the ocean to Indian shores to satisfy their spiritual yearnings? Fast food spirituality or a deeper motivation?

Vice President of an MNC Peter Gartenberg, who has been living in India for the last six years and who has been visiting India before for the last 30 years, opines, "There's an attraction to things that are exotic.

And I think Western people also have a tendency to romanticise things like these. Sometimes, people there get dissatisfied and look for something deeper, something not so familiar. But in a lot of ways I think it's the romanticisation of faith.

When you're dissatisfied with what you know, that's when you look at a form of religion that you don't know and feel that that has the answer."

But why India? Continues Peter, "Mumbai is becoming more prominent in the world, and so, people are adopting its spiritual beliefs. India was a prominent spiritual destination in the 60's and 70's but now with the internet, you can sit in Kentucky and surf the net about an Indian religion!"

And yet, others believe that the thread to spiritual realisation runs deeper than just a romantic gloss. "Some people abroad reach a saturation point where they've got the best, materially," says Vikram

Hazra of the Art of Living. "Distances between people are decreasing, but without the sensitisation to other cultures, a different level of estrangement arises. America has the largest number of lonely people.

They feel the need to reach out, and it has a certain amount of awkwardness to it. When the Beatles came to Maharishi, it was a fad, a form of escapism. Today, it is more need-driven and more serious."

And it's this kind of easy-to-digest spirituality that the West prefers. Says sociologist Nandini Sardesai, "By and large, people in the West prefer sermonisers, like Maharishi Yogi, Deepak Chopra and others who put forth spirituality in an attractive package.

They sometimes prefer to hear it rather than read for themselves. All the spiritual leaders, Buddha, Christ or the Prophet Mohammed, have been from the East. That tells us something."

Theatre person Gary Richardson adds, "Religion in America has been taken over by a lot of ultra conservative people. A lot of Western people are not finding the answers that they are looking for.

People like Britney who are liberal women are looking for a religion that's all-inclusive. There are people who want something new, something vibrant. Indians have been inculcated with it but for foreigners, it's exciting."

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

Comments

Characters Remaining: 3000

OR PROCEED WITHOUT REGISTRATION

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SIGN IN WITH

FacebookGoogleEmail

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.